Second Ward, Minneapolis

This is the public policy forum of Minneapolis Second Ward (Green) City Council Member Cam Gordon and his staff. We use this space to talk about some of what Cam’s working on, explain his positions, and share a little of what life in City Hall is like. Please feel free to comment on posts, within certain ground rules. See our disclaimer, including ground rules, here: http://secondward.blogspot.com/2006/05/disclaimer.html#links

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Accomplishments for 2015

It has become a tradition in
the Ward 2 Office to look back at the end of each year and review our
accomplishments. There is little doubt that 2015 was a challenging
year for the City of Minneapolis. With the death
of Jamar Clark in late November and through the protests that
followed, we have had to face ongoing impacts of historical and present-day
racism and injustice and our City government is struggling to find a way to
respond with meaningful changes.

But 2015 also saw the success of many
initiatives the Second Ward office has championed. Here is our list for this year:

For Justice:

-I
coauthored (with Council Member Blong Yang) the successful repeal of the City’s antiquated and unjust ordinances
that criminalized “lurking” and spitting

-I
coauthored (with Council member Lisa Bender) an ordinance that allows more flexibility for siting emergency shelters for people
experiencing homelessness

-I
stood with the community and actively supported the people’s right to peaceably
assemble in response to the police shooting of Jamar Clark and the protests at the 4th Precinct

-I
authored a staff direction that required the Police Department and Attorney’s
Office to provided a detailed multi-year report to the Council, for the first time, on low-level offenses with data on who has been arrested, where and what the consequences of those arrests have been.

-I
opposed a last-minute amendment to devote more than $600,000 to security
investments at the 4th Precinct

-I
fought for the City to adopt a fair scheduling
ordinance, but was ultimately unsuccessful

-The
City hired our first Racial Equity staff
in the Coordinator’s office, something I have advocated for years, and
supported in last year’s budget

Forthe Environment:

-I
authored (with Council Member Linea Palmisano)a resolution declaring Minneapolis a pollinator-friendly city, pledging to not use synthetic pesticides,
planting more forage for pollinators, and urging others to follow our example

-I coauthored (with Council Member Alondra Cano)a resolutiondivesting from
fossil fuels and urging other entities to divest

-The
Clean Energy Partnership, which I
worked to create and on which I serve, appointed a strong Energy Vision
Advisory Committee, adopted its first 2-year work plan and metrics, and funded
free Energy Squad visits for low-income homeowners and zero-percent financing
for energy efficiency improvements

-The
Council voted to subscribe to community solar,
and directed staff to start a process to put out a City-led request for
proposals for community solar

-I
submitted formal comments on the draft Xcel
Energy resource plan, and the later draft of that plan includes
significantly more reductions in fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions

-I
directed public works staff to overhaul the City’s Urban Forest Policy in light of the clear evidence from a Tree
Failure Report that our sidewalk repair practices have damaged tree roots,
leaving trees vulnerable to wind storms

For
Smart and Equitable Development:

-I
authored a resolution that creates a new City designation for Innovation Districts, and authored a
second resolution designating the University
Avenue Innovation District to support Prospect North

-I
took a firm position against a tax giveaway for a privately-owned soccer stadium

For Local Food:

-I
authored an ordinance changes that allow more flexibility for “limited production and processing” in commercial areas, to support
small local food processors

-I
shepherded a policy through the Council that opens up more City-owned land for food growing, for longer lease terms, and for
the first time allows market gardeners to access that land

-The
Council passed the City’s first protected
bikeway plan, something I have advocated for years, and has fully funded
its implementation

-One
of the first protected bikeways in the City opened this year on Oak Street Southeast, with the strong
support and active participation of my office

-Ward
2’s first-ever Open Streets events
were held in the University area and on Lake Street

-With
leadership from my office, the Public Works department has begun a winter maintenance evaluation for
bikeways and sidewalks

-I
coauthored a letter of support for Minneapolis to host the 2016 Winter Cycling Congress, and we were chosen as host city

For
Youth:

-Building
on the strong advocacy of the Youth Congress, I coauthored (with Council Member Yang) an ordinance prohibiting flavored tobacco except at
tobacco-only retailers, and set a minimum
price for cigars and cigarillos

-As
Chair of the Youth Coordinating Board, I helped oversee development of the
Afterschool Network citywide program finder: What’s Up 612!www.whatsup612.com
that launched in June.

For
Zero Waste:

-The
City, led by my office, sought and received funding from the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency to conduct a study on commercial recycling and waste diversion, and that study is underway

-I
coauthored a resolution establishing an aggressive recycling and waste
diversion goal for the City and supporting the adoption of a Zero Waste Plan, which is underway

-My
office crafted an amendment that significantly increases the amount of composting that can occur at community
gardens, market gardens and urban farms, while simplifying these regulations

For
Democracy and Community Engagement:

-The
Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR) department is finalizing a Blueprint for Equitable Engagement, to
ensure that City-supported community engagement activities truly serve all
members of our communities

-I
supported an external evaluation of
the NCR department and neighborhood organizations

-The
Council has passed a major update to the City’s language access plan for better serving people with limited English
proficiency

Local Issues:

My
office also works on many issues of local importance for Second Ward
neighborhoods. A few of the local issues
we worked on this year include:

-Staffing
the University Avenue Innovation
District and Prospect North
Partnership

-Ensuring
that no development would occur in the Glendale
Townhomes area without the support of Glendale residents and the broader
community

-Testing
a closure at 29th Ave S and
the Midtown Greenway, as part of a planned bike boulevard

-Welcoming
a host of new small businesses to
our neighborhoods

-Tracking
major developments including 22 on
the River, multiple new hotels, the Kemps/Overflow site and much more

-Starting
a Grain Elevator Task Force to respond
to the dangers and opportunities created by the mostly vacant elevators in our
city

-Pushing
the City to begin the process to purchase right-of-way for the Prospect Park Trail

Work led by my
colleagues:

And,
as always, my colleagues have been working on good policies that I have been
happy to support, including:

-A
rail safety resolution coauthored by
Council Members Reich and Palmisano